Just say no to safe-injection drug sites
In the 1980s, First Lady Nancy Reagan was the driving force behind the anti-drug campaign “Just Say No.” By all accounts, it was extremely effective.
But rather than building upon such successes, some leaders in Philadelphia think they know a much better way to reduce drug use.
They want to give addicts a safe place to obtain free drug paraphernalia and shoot up – without fear of arrest – and have medically trained staff on-hand in case of overdose. Those pushing such “safe-injection” sites actually believe that giving junkies the freedom to use drugs in this way will A) reduce the number of opioid deaths in the city, and B) increase the number of people seeking treatment to wean themselves off drugs.
Once upon a time, Americans dutifully followed laws, even when they didn’t like them. And it was that adherence to the rule of law, along with the people’s unique ability to change laws legally through their elected representatives, that separated America from other nations.
One of the most flagrant examples of trying to toss existing law aside – an effort that has the full support of top elected officials – is occurring in the City of Brotherly Love.
Safehouse, a nonprofit organization, is looking to open the nation’s first medically supervised drug-injection site. It would be a facility where people could use illegal drugs, be given free syringes, and, should they have an “issue” – such as overdosing – health workers would be on hand to render assistance.
In other words, drug users could walk in with illicit substances, buy goods from friends if they’re running low, and go to town, without worrying that the party will be busted by cops. And should he push it too far, someone will revive him – so that he can do it all over again. Only in America!
Not surprisingly, Mayor Jim Kenney fully supports the idea, as does District Attorney Larry Krasner. Not to be outdone, former Philly mayor and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell not only serves on Safehouse’s board of directors, but incorporated the organization.
How utterly ironic – though hardly surprising – that three high-powered politicians, who all swore to uphold the law, are leading the charge to break it.
The feds, in keeping their word, have filed suit to stop the Safehouse effort. United States Attorney William McSwain, in a show of restraint, is seeking a civil ruling, rather than criminal prosecution, that would prevent the site from opening.
“Normalizing the use of deadly drugs is not the answer to solving the epidemic,” he correctly stated.
Should a judge legislate from the bench and rule against the government, however, Mr. McSwain could up the ante by making arrests, aggressively prosecuting both users and Safehouse staff, and seizing assets through his office’s forfeiture power.
On cue, his announcement was met with – you guessed it – protests and social media damnation, which means he’s doing the right thing.
The most important aspect to keep in mind is that the effort to stop safe-injection sites isn’t about abandoning drug addicts, but following the law. If you don’t like the current rules, fine. Work to change them at the local, state and federal levels. But don’t ignore the law simply because changing it is hard.
Our nation’s history is filled with movements that changed not just laws, but hearts and minds, because of people’s blood, sweat and tears: slavery, women’s suffrage, workplace rules, civil rights, environmental standards, gay marriage. But the people who fought for those monumental changes did so the right way – the legal way. They protested, organized, lobbied and engaged in civil disobedience until they were successful in changing the law.
But if Philly’s leaders have their way, they will set the dangerous precedent of ignoring laws and, when applicable, have liberal judges legislate from the bench to accomplish their agenda.
Both sides agree that the opioid epidemic is growing at an exponential rate. Future columns will examine the crisis in greater detail, including legal ways to address the problem.
But in the meantime, we should never deviate from working within the law. Just as it was wrong for people to blow up abortion clinics to protest the killing of unborn babies, so too is it wrong to facilitate supervised drug use.
The alternative is becoming a banana republic. And at that point, drug use will be the least of our problems.